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Advice on Painting from John Singer Sargent
(2015) - about a digital ebook about how Sargent approached his paintings - which references “John Sargent” by the Hon. Evan Charteris -
annotated by Thomas Jefferson Kitts
The cost of seeing an art exhibition in London is not cheap. Enrolling for one or more Friends / Membership schemes can seem like a sensible thing to do if you like viewing art.
Certainly, I planned on visiting art exhibitions a lot when I retired and one of the very first things I did when I retired was to take out memberships at a number of the national art galleries and museums in London - and I've never regretted it - until now.
The reality is Annual Membership fees for Art Galleries and Museums keep on rising
by more than the cost of inflation (as government funding has been cut) over the course of the recession
some rises have also been pretty steep and less than transparent for those addressing some pretty ambitious development plans! I use direct debits for my memberships and got a major shock when I realised how much I was now paying for my RA membership!
Given memberships are often gifted at Christmas I thought I'd do a review of:
what each membership scheme costs
my conclusions as to which is best for what
the best value art membership scheme of all - and it's maybe a scheme you're not aware of
Some of you who have enrolled and, like me, have not looked at your direct debits lately may get a SHOCK!
National Gallery from Trafalgar Square on a late winter afternoon
Art Galleries and Museums - The cost of membership
Membership fees have changed and come museums have got very cute at working out what makes a difference to people eg
some are very family friendly with free access for more than two kids (see Tate and V&A)
some are kind to young people eg V&A
some are well suited to those who like taking their friends and guests to an exhibition
some do decent discounts on books and items in shops eg NPG and Tate
some do decent discounts on restaurant meals and throw in great views eg National Portrait Gallery (one of the main reasons members go to to the NPG!)
Free unlimited entry to all visiting exhibitions and Collection + Friends' Private Views; Friends Rates on tickets for lectures, art classes, talks & events; InView magazine (3 editions per year); Friends monthly e-news; opportunity to get involved with the work of the
Free entry to exhibitions for you and a family guest (but you have to book first for some) + Previews to exhibitions before they open to the public; Priority booking to all RA events. Private views and exclusive Friends events; all-day access to the Keeper's House; RA Magazine and a weekly email newsletter;
10% discount in the RA shop (but not on everything)
£125 standard friend + guest
£60 16-25 single + family guest [Note: NO SINGLE MEMBERSHIP]
Free unlimited entry to all four Tate galleries and any exhibitions, plus member talks, events and viewing hours.
Unlimited free exhibition entry at all four art galleries (No need to book, just turn up) +; Exclusive Members Hours away from the crowds; Access to Members Room; 10% Tate Shop discount. Free admission for up to six children
£76 single (direct debit)
£120 single + guest (direct debit)
Year 1 (Direct Debit) = 15 months for the price of 12
Free unlimited entry to all exhibitions (no need to book) + exclusive previews; priority booking for evening talks and access to specially curated Members-only events; Members' Room; V&A Magazine (three times a year); quarterly newsletter & monthly emails; free access to exhibitions for up to four children (under-18)
Free unlimited entry to all exhibitions + exclusive events (Lectures / tours / exhibition previews); Concession rates on public events including concerts, Friday Lates, lectures and art classes;
Most of the above also do Joint Membership schemes + guests but I've not included them above as I think the cost will have limited appeal to all but the most sociable and well endowed.
The Courtauld Gallery closed in September 2018 for at leas two years for renovations. Meanwhile you can see the Impressionist Paintings from the Coutauld at the National Gallery.
Some of the world famous Courtauld Impressionist paintings at the National Gallery
My conclusions
For those who like blockbuster exhibitions - consider
the British Museum (if you like historical / cultural aspects of art)
the National Gallery (for once in a lifetime exhibitions of art loaned by other national museums)
the V&A (if you like design, fashion and/or contemporary culture)
the RA - for "once in a while" blockbusters. (They certainly don't have them every year.)
If you have a young family the Tate and V&A are your best bet - both provide free admission for children under 18 (6 and 4 respectively). Others provide free access for under 12s and discounted prices for 13-18 year olds.
If you want to see exhibitions when they are less crowded, choose less busy hours of the day or extended hours which are also open to the public.
Members previews at some galleries are if anything MORE crowded than when the public are in!
Only galleries who are making a very serious effort to make the galleries less crowded for viewing by members should get your money.
If you enjoy somewhere to relax after seeing an exhibition, consider the Tate. Best view in London (across the Thames) and some comfy seats at Tate Modern. HOWEVER
most galleries forget that a lot of their membership patrons are pensioners who like to have decent sit down at some point during the day, especially after seeing an exhibition.
The leather Chesterfields in the Friend Room at the RA (sadly now gone for good) kept me as a member for a very long time! Hard seats have very little appeal....
If you want a stunning view - and a discount - with your lunch, consider the National Portrait Gallery Restaurant - which looks out at Parliament and the London Eye over the top of the National Galley. The 10% discount is a bonus!
Think very long and hard before signing up for a Royal Academy of ArtsFriends subscription
there is NO SINGLE MEMBERSHIP for those of us who like visiting exhibitions on our own -and/or not having to pay through the nose for the odd times we take a friend as well.
as a result, it's TWICE the cost of most of memberships (ie equivalent to Friend + Guest subscriptions elsewhere) - and creeps up each year without being signalled loudly.
Plus having a membership card no longer means free access whenever you want (i.e. the main reason I have a card) as you still need to book entry for members previews and some popular exhibitions - which means less spontaneity and you don't eliminate booking!).
It's much much cheaper to just book for the exhibitions you want to see and pay for tickets online.
The Royal Academy of Arts have announced their 2019 programme of exhibitions. There seem to be more than usual - however I guess the redevelopment created extra space!
The star of the show for me is the exhibition of self-portraits by Lucian Freud in just over a year's time
Botanical art fans are converging on London this week for the RHS Botanical Art Show.
In terms of handing out Gold Medals for Botanical Art this is the most prestigious botanical art show in the world. It effect it's the visual equivalent for botanical artists of the Olympics or the World Cup! Absolutely nothing else presents the same sort of challenge!
That's why in recent days botanical artists have jetted into London from all around the globe - to try and capture that elusive RHS Gold Medal. That said, we've got quite a few Gold Medallists who are returning to see if they can enhance their credibility by winning another one!.
Medals are being awarded as I write - and I'll be there at this evening's reception.
View of part of last year's exhibition in the RHS Lindley Hall Each of the run of panels is an exhibit of a minimum of six works by one artist
Work is graded against various criteria
- but medal colour is often determined by the weakest not the best - so everything has to be excellent!
However, while in London to see this show there is also the most fantastic opportunity to see other top class botanical art exhibitions - and this is a list of the details of everything on offer in London - in terms of botanical art!
Those pursuing other genres might pause for a moment and reflect when there were this many top class of exhibitions in prestigious venues for other subject matter!
Royal Horticultural Society
The RHS Plant and Art Fair (10-12 July 2018) includesthree international exhibitions of botanical art and photography. These are:
Plus this is information about how the RHS Botanical Art Show works for those aspiring to show in 2020 (you're already too late for 2019!). It's the only show I know where you have to be approved BEFORE you can submit your artwork
This is also a show where it pays to sort your visa out in good time..... It loosk like we might have lost one exhibitor to visa problems at the UK end.... - which will be very disappointing
This is a video I made of last year's Botanical Art Show
The number of botanical artists this year - per country is as follows:
19 x UK + 1 group
7 x Japan
4 x Korea
2 x Italy
2 x New Zealand
2 x Turkey
and one each from Australia, Austria, Brazil, Hong Kong, Thailand and the USA
The RHS Botanical Photography Show
Venue: RHS Lawrence Hall, Greycoat Street, Westminster
Dates: 10-12 July 2018
Venue: RHS Lindley Library 80 Vincent Square LONDON SW1P 2PE
Dates: 5 July - 17 August 2018
This is the "must see" for every visitor to the Botanical Art Show - if for no other reason than it is adjacent to the show in RHS HQ in Vincent Square.
Worth a Thousand Words - exhibition at the RHS | Botanical Art and Artists - about the previous Gold Medal winners whose gold-medal winning work acquired by the RHS is in this small exhibition.
Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew
There are two exhibitions on display at the moment - in the same place and for the same dates.
The Florilegium: The Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney
This is an exhibition by the Florilegium Society of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. It was originally mounted at the RBGS Gardens in Sydney in 2016 as part of the 200th anniversary of the Botanic Gardens.
Part of the Florilegium exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - This is a world class exhibition and sets a very high standard for exhibitions by Florilegia
Down Under II: Works from the Shirley Sherwood Collection
The second exhibition - Down Under II: Works from the Shirley Sherwood Collection - is a follow on from the first exhibition of artwork in the Shirley Sherwood Collection of native Australian and New Zealand plants created by local and international botanical artists.
When I last visited besides the examples of botanical artwork by many of the great artists from the past there were some paintings of natural habitat by Barbara Nicolson and a reproduction of a watercolour painting of orchids by the late Pandora Sellars
Orchids (1985) by Pandora Sellars (1936-2016)
Rumanian Cultural Institute
The exhibition of botanical paintings included in the Transylvania Florilegium has returned for July and August
Finally for the true and dedicated fans there are some excellent artworks by botanical artiosts from England, Scotland, Australia and the USA on display at Jonathan Cooper's 30th anniversary exhibition in Chelsea
Venue: Jonathan Cooper Gallery, 20 Park Walk, Chelsea, London, SW10 0AQ
Dates: 12 - 21 July 2018
Gallery Opening Times: Mon – Fri (10 – 6.30pm); Sat (11 – 4pm) Closed Bank Holidays
"With watercolour, you can't cover up the marks. There's the story of the construction of the picture, and then the picture might tell another story as well."
David Hockney
David Hockney doesn't call 'acrylic paint' watercolour! He reserves this term for 'proper watercolour paints'.
As one of the early and leading 20th century painters in acrylics he knows the difference - and the difference in the challenges they pose for the painter!
Hockney once condemned watercolour as a medium for painting - calling it "wishywashy" and "suitable only for Sunday painters".
However he changed his mind and was inspired to start painting in watercolour after seeing an exhibition about Thomas Girtin at Tate Britain in 2002. (see tomorrow's post)
The artist got his inspiration for making watercolours after visiting an exhibition of the French watercolour artist Thomas Girtin, who died in 1825 aged 27. He said he had to learn a new way of painting but found watercolour could capture scenes even a photographer could not do justice to.Hockney shows off his wishy washy watercolours | The Independent (2003)
Hockney, 64, has not called the paintings watercolours however - the title of the exhibition is Paintings On Paper. They measure 4ft by 3ft and were made using four pieces of paper, with Hockney painting them in sittings of seven hours, with no initial sketches.Hockney unveils first watercolours | BBC
Hockney has long been interested in the dynamics of the double portrait. In search of a contemporary approach, Hockney began exploring watercolour further earlier this year and found its immediacy and fluidity lent itself to producing portraits directly from life. Painted on a large-scale on four watercolour tablets, each portrait was produced in one seven-hour sitting.
In 2003 - He also experimented with doing large watercolour paintings of the interior of his home and garden on multiple sheets of paper - see his website. In 2004 - he was painting the Andalusia Mosque in Cordoba in watercolour - see his website.
David Hockney Midsummer: East Yorkshire 2004
In 2005 - he had an exhibition of watercolours he had painted in Yorkshire (see the video above) - David Hockney Midsummer: East Yorkshire 2004 Somerset House, London (17th November 2005 - 19th February 2006). Also exhibited in California as David Hockney Hand Eye Heart - Watercolors of the East Yorkshire Landscape LA Louver, Venice, California 26 February - 2 April 2005. I'm going to be ordering the pack of 36 postcards of the paintings from the Salt Mills Gallery!
When he was painting Midsummer: East Yorkshire, David Hockney worked in pre-mixed colour so he could work as fast as possible, and didn’t allow himself the comfort of any underdrawing in pencil. The result has a fresh and vivid beauty.
One visitor commented
Some years ago now I visited the Courtauld Gallery to see thirty six watercolours on paper by David Hockney. They were called Midsummer East Yorkshire 2004. I grew up a few miles from Woldgate woods, have driven over the Yorkshire Wolds countless times, and have lived a few miles down the road from Bridlington where Hockney now paints since the late 1980’s. It was the first time that I had seen the Yorkshire countryside that I knew and understood reflected back to me. No stone walls, no peaks, no sheep, no drama. I sat there in the middle of a London gallery and felt at home.Patricia Rogers
You cannot deny them their skill. An accompanying film shows Hockney was using pots of pre-mixed colour, dabbing his brush in little inkpots, in order to work as fast as possible. With no pencil underdrawing, there is no room for mistake. There is one painting he had to abandon because it started raining - you can see the raindrops in the washes of green and grey he had been able to get down.
The sense of immediacy is total, and breathtaking: a refreshing contrast to the stiller, less effervescent oils he did of Yorkshire in the 1990s. Another unfinished work shows the silhouette of a combine harvester above two glorious streaks of golden corn and a flurry of grasses beneath. It makes you wish that other lover of golden cornfields, Van Gogh, had done more watercolours: they might have lightened his heart.
curated an exhibition of Turner watercolours at the Tate - see Hockney on Turner Watercolours- and I went to see it and wrote a couple of blog posts about it (see below)
had an exhibition "David Hockney Portraits - Life Love Art" at the National Portrait Gallery which included watercolour portraits
Many artists sell art across borders to other countries these days - but there's not a lot of help out there in terms of:
what you have to do to move art through Customs
what's the best way to pack and label art and ship it internationally
a new resource for artists - all about how to master customs tariffs, documentation and services to get artwork from your studio to its final destination in another country
My very first serious exhibition 20 years ago was in the USA. I had to learn pretty fast about how to pack art so it arrives safe and sound and which service works best for getting the artwork there by the due date - and the customs documentation and tariff codes required and how to display it so that the package actually got out of Customs and arrived at the Gallery!
Everything went fine - but it was a long wait until I got the confirmation everything had arrived safely!
Since that date I've heard of numerous artists who have messed up on sending their artwork to other countries. It's hugely disappointing to the artists who have invariably made their best efforts - but just didn't get everything right because they'd never ever done it before.
The artwork often remains in Customs while the exhibition goes ahead without them!
Or the artwork arrives damaged because allowances were not made to what can happen to artwork moving overseas.
Or it just disappears......
Which is how come I've remained interested in the topic and developed a site to share the information with those for whom sending art overseas is a new and mysterious challenge!
I've now transferred that information to my art business website.
Entrance to the the Headquarters of the Federation of British Artists
17 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5BD
All dates have been announced on the Mall Galleries website. The link in the exhibition date below is to the page with all the details of dates and process re. submissions.
If you want a page of relevant dates for all the FBA Societies that you can print out try the 2017 Call for Entries Checklist of Dates pdf file produced by the Mall Galleries.
Note that some exhibitions are shorter or longer and that the dates of some submissions or exhibitions have moved by one week or more.
